''Oligosoma infrapunctatum'', the speckled skink, is a species of

skink Skinks are a type of lizard belonging to the family (biology), family Scincidae, a family in the Taxonomic rank, infraorder Scincomorpha. With more than 1,500 described species across 100 different taxonomic genera, the family Scincidae is one o ...

in the

family Family (from ) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). It forms the basis for social order. Ideally, families offer predictabili ...

Scincidae. It is

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

. The speckled skink is classified under the

New Zealand Threat Classification System The New Zealand Threat Classification System is used by the Department of Conservation to assess conservation priorities of species in New Zealand. The system was developed because the IUCN Red List, a similar conservation status system, had s ...

as being in 'gradual decline'. However, evidence indicates that this classification refers to a

complex Complex commonly refers to: * Complexity, the behaviour of a system whose components interact in multiple ways so possible interactions are difficult to describe ** Complex system, a system composed of many components which may interact with each ...

of closely related species, and the actual ''O. infrapunctatum'' may be highly endangered or even extinct.

Distribution

''Oligosoma infrapunctatum'' is a widespread but patchily distributed skink with a distribution spanning the

North Island The North Island ( , 'the fish of Māui', historically New Ulster) is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, islands of New Zealand, separated from the larger but less populous South Island by Cook Strait. With an area of , it is the List ...

from the

Bay of Plenty The Bay of Plenty () is a large bight (geography), bight along the northern coast of New Zealand's North Island. It stretches from the Coromandel Peninsula in the west to Cape Runaway in the east. Called ''Te Moana-a-Toitehuatahi'' (the Ocean ...

south, and the

South Island The South Island ( , 'the waters of Pounamu, Greenstone') is the largest of the three major islands of New Zealand by surface area, the others being the smaller but more populous North Island and Stewart Island. It is bordered to the north by ...

in the

Marlborough Sounds The Marlborough Sounds (Māori language, te reo Māori: ''Te Tauihu-o-te-Waka'') are an extensive network of ria, sea-drowned valleys at the northern end of the South Island of New Zealand. The Marlborough Sounds were created by a combination ...

, Nelson and Westland regions. It occurs in open forest, scrubland and tussock grassland from sea level to the

subalpine zone Montane ecosystems are found on the slopes of mountains. The alpine climate in these regions strongly affects the ecosystem because temperatures lapse rate, fall as elevation increases, causing the ecosystem to stratify. This stratification is ...

, on boulder beaches in the Westland region of the South Island Whitaker, A.H. & Lyall, J. (2004) Conservation of lizards in West Coast/Tai Poutini Conservancy. Technical Report, Department of Conservation, Wellington. and occasionally in farmland and other modified habitats.

Biogeography

Oligosoma infrapunctatum imported from iNaturalist photo 1668965 on 23 June 2020

Recent genetic studies showed deep genetic divisions within ''O. infrapunctatum'' indicating that it is probably a complex of cryptic species which diverged in the

Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch (geology), epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.33 to 2.58Melzer, S.; Hitchmough, R.A.; Bell, T.; Chapple, D.G.; Patterson, G.B. (2019) Lost and Found: Taxonomic revision of the speckled skink (Oligosoma infrapunctatum; Reptilia; Scincidae) species complex from New Zealand reveals a potential cryptic extinction, resurrection of two species, and description of three new species. Zootaxa 4623(3): 441-484.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2704370 infrapunctatum Endemic reptiles of New Zealand Reptiles described in 1887 Taxa named by George Albert Boulenger Taxonomy articles created by Polbot